Prisons May Start Giving Out Free Pads and Tampons

For many people in prison, getting their periods are far more than just "that time of the month." For menstruators on the outside, periods are often little more than an inconvenience, but in prison, limited access to pads and tampons can make menstruation not only uncomfortable, but humiliating. Luckily, that may all be about to change.

According to a new memo from the Bureau of Prisons, federal prisons will now provide pads and tampons to inmates free of charge. This, Sen. Corey Booker's office confirmed according to Refinery29, is a change from the norm, breaking from the federal system's previous inconsistent and expensive provision of menstrual products.

Previously, Bustle reports access to menstrual products in prison was inconsistent, varying depending on where someone is incarcerated. As a 2016 episode of Orange is the New Black highlighted, menstrual products often aren't abundant enough in prison, and are often sold at astronomical prices that any inmates can't afford. This, former inmate Chandra Bozelko wrote in an article for the Guardian, made menstruation a form of humiliation.

“Even though keeping inmates clean would seem to be in the prison’s self-interest, prisons control their wards by keeping sanitation just out of reach,” Chandra wrote. “Stains on clothes seep into self-esteem and serve as an indelible reminder of one’s powerlessness in prison.”

“To ask a macho guard for a tampon is humiliating,” she continues. “But it’s more than that: it’s an acknowledgement of the fact that, ultimately, the prison controls your cleanliness, your health and your feelings of self-esteem. The request is even more difficult to make when a guard complains that his tax dollars shouldn’t have to pay for your supplies.”

But menstruation should not be shameful, it should be considered a normal part of life — because it is. That's what a new bill called the Dignity For Incarcerated Women Act, backed by Booker and Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Dick Durbin, aims to do by stipulating menstrual products should be provided free-of-charge to all federal inmates.

"I’m encouraged that the Bureau of Prisons is finally explicitly requiring these healthcare products be provided free of charge to incarcerated women at all BOP facilities. But a policy memo is just words on a piece of paper unless it’s properly enforced," Sen. Booker told Refinery29. "I’ll be monitoring to ensure that BOP is implementing this new policy consistently at all federal prisons. I’ll also be working to advance other important reforms included in the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act."

Those other reforms include ensuring pregnant women aren't shackled or put in solitary confinement while incarcerated, charged for phone calls or kept from their families, Refinery29 reports.